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G'day Mate
February 6th, 2015, 02:33 AM
Maybe this belongs in the "The Garage" forum ... anyway I don't really know anything about cars and my girlfriend and my cars are both about to crap out at the same time. I don't need one much, but she'll need to replace hers so do you guys have tips about what to look for, what to look out for and etcetera?

Probably looking for a 5-door hatch if that helps, probably about 10 years old.
overpowered
February 6th, 2015, 02:41 AM
I was going to say Open Road but.....
G'day Mate
February 6th, 2015, 03:12 AM
Oh wow, there's two of them! I've never set foot in either
Kchrpm
February 6th, 2015, 06:55 AM
Haha :D

Uh, 10 year old 5-door hatch...that's outside my sphere of knowledge, so I'm going to randomly throw out Honda Fit and hope Russ/Vince can comment.
George
February 6th, 2015, 07:02 AM
10 year old cars? Hey, finally a car topic here that I can participate in!

The answer to your question for longevity, reliability, and low ownership costs, at least in the USA, is:

Honda Accord or Honda Civic
Toyota Camry or Toyota Corolla

Take any used car you're considering to a mechanic for a pre-purchase check. The last time I did that is cost about US$100 and was worth every penny.

You'll be mighty bored while driving these appliances, but if you repeat this process every ten years or as necessary and you'll save a fortune on cars over a lifetime.
Random
February 6th, 2015, 10:24 AM
I'm thinking that IMOA, DN, Leon, etc will have better info for you on local options than the USDM peeps.

(I'll also stick this in the Open Road. :))

http://www.carsguide.com.au/car-advice/how-to-buy-a-used-car-10-tips-23597
Yw-slayer
February 6th, 2015, 10:34 AM
Holden ute, duh.
IMOA
February 7th, 2015, 04:09 AM
Buy a well cared for Mazda 3.

That was easy.
Dicknose
February 7th, 2015, 09:48 PM
I've never bought a used car. Although considering it for my next car.

Mazda 3 is pretty popular.
G'day Mate
February 7th, 2015, 10:53 PM
http://www.carsguide.com.au/car-advice/how-to-buy-a-used-car-10-tips-23597

That's a handy link, thanks
Rare White Ape
February 8th, 2015, 03:43 AM
Buy a well cared for Mazda 3.

That was easy.

So easy that I didn't even have to write that myself.
G'day Mate
February 10th, 2015, 05:28 PM
So, what's a lot of kms for a 10-year-old car?
Yobbo NZ
February 10th, 2015, 11:06 PM
Well,my 13 year old camry has 387,xxx on it,still drives like new.Also depends where it comes from,a country car,like mine,would do more kms than a car driven only in the city.
Yw-slayer
February 11th, 2015, 01:17 AM
Our 10 year old Legacy has less than 39,000km on it, but that's not too high, even for Hong Kong.
Godson
February 11th, 2015, 07:02 AM
Heh. My 2001 Denali has 221k miles on it (356k kilometers), and last summer just had its first waterpump/thermostat housing develop a leak. Otherwise everything is bone stock original
G'day Mate
February 18th, 2015, 02:25 AM
Mazda 3 hatch'd

2008, just over 100,000kms, excellent condition, but under nine grand.

Everyone seems impressed* :)

* you know ... for a second hand car and all
TheBenior
February 18th, 2015, 03:52 AM
Nice, that's the year I have, though mine's the Mazdaspeed/MPS version.

If they haven't been replaced recently, there's a good chance that at least one of your rear shocks are leaking. OEM 1st gen Mazda3 shocks are junk (I went through two sets in 32k miles), so don't replace them with OEM when the time comes.